Now he has shelled out £75million on a centre back in Virgil van Dijk. And Mourinho said: “If I was one of you I would ask him about his comments about one year ago.

“When he arrived at Liverpool, he trusted a lot his quality as a good coach, which he is, he trusted a lot his work, he said a few words and I think now he realises that is not enough to be the champion, to win the Champions League, to win trophies.

“He needs more so you can see Liverpool with Naby Keita that they already did for next summer, Virgil van Dijk and he is a player who can also play Champions League.

“They realise they have to go to the crazy levels of the market because if they don’t, if they offer £40m, Southampton doesn’t sell them the player, it’s as simple as that. That’s the reality.”

18 months on and Klopp has forked out a huge sum to sign Virgil van Dijk from Southampton

When United bought Pogba this is what Klopp had to say: “If you bring one player in for £100m and he gets injured then it all goes through the chimney. The day that this is football, I'm not in a job anymore, because the game is about playing together.

"That is how everybody in football understands it. You always want to have the best, but building the group is necessary to be successful.